Francisco Farreras

FRANCISCO FARRERAS RICART (Barcelona, 1927 - Madrid, 2021).
"Collage 135", 1961.
Burnt silk paper and acrylic on wood.
Presents on the back label and stamp of the Edurne Gallery (Madrid).
Signed, dated and located on the back.
Measurements: 120 x 100 cm; 121,5 x 100,5 cm (frame).
This work is an example of Farreras' early exploration of the material and experimental language that would mark the core of his production during the 1960s. Made with burnt silk paper and acrylic, the piece is inscribed in a key moment of artistic renovation in post-war Spain. Farreras, linked in his beginnings to geometric abstraction, progressively evolved towards a freer and more gestural practice, where matter acquired an essential protagonism. This transition is clearly evident in this painting, where the support ceases to be a mere background and becomes a field of experimentation. It should be noted that another work from this same series, "Collage 139", is part of the Tate collection. In both pieces we can see how the composition is articulated around a central form of organic, almost spectral character, which emerges against a dark, earthy background. The superimposed layers of paper create a play of glazes and opacities that suggest movement and expansion, evoking natural structures.
Francisco Farreras Ricart began to develop his artistic vocation at a young age thanks, at least at first, to Antonio Gómez Cano de Murcia and Mariano Cossío, when he began studying at the School of Arts and Crafts in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. He continued his apprenticeship at the San Fernando School in Madrid, where he obtained the title of Professor of Drawing in 1949, and in Paris, Belgium and Holland thanks to his study trips. At the end of the 50's his style is geometric, using thick materials; later, when he discovered silk paper, he developed the possibilities of this material with a large number of collages, especially his work has been seen, since 1954 when he began his professional artistic career, in numerous cities both in Spain and abroad (Madrid, New York, Munich, Logroño, Gijón, Elche, Lisbon, Oporto, Alicante, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Granada, Lahr in Germany, Mallorca, Geneva, California, etc.). It is also preserved in numerous private collections around the world and in institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, the Contemporary Art Center of Almada in Portugal, the Honolulu Academy of the Arts in Hawaii, the Chaux de Fonds Museum of Fine Arts in Switzerland, the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid, the Vienna Museum of the 20th Century in Austria, etc.